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CCC Reference Guide on Code Implementation & Verification
Section 4. Critical issues on code implementation and verification
Living wages(*) and hours
of work
The garment industry is renowned for low wages, excessive overtime and
poor working conditions. In spite of the fact that consumers are spending
more and more on clothes, there are few signs of improvement for workers.
In fact, the opposite is the case: downward pressure on wages means that
many garment workers find their weekly wage packet is not enough to live
on, in spite of the fact that they often work extremely long hours. A
living wage is thus defined as a wage that provides for basic needs (housing,
energy, nutrition, clothing, health care, education, potable water, child
care, transportation, and savings), includes additional discretionary
income, and takes into consideration dependents.
Several codes (including the CCC code) call for the payment of a "living
wage". Many claim it is impossible to come up with a measurable
standard for the living wage, or that wage levels should be determined
through collective bargaining between trade unions and management. In
fact, there are a variety of techniques actually available to make at
least a reasonable estimate of the range in which a living wage would
fall, for example by using the "poverty line", the "purchasing
power index", the so-called "market basket" approach,
or a combination of these methods. Other benchmarks could include "best
practice" negotiated wage levels elsewhere in the sector, or the
wage levels called for by unions or labour-related groups active in
the area. The point about collective bargaining is certainly valid,
but when no union is present in the workplace (which is the case in
most garment industry workplaces), buyers should ensure that wage levels
allow workers to live. This can of course be adjusted later when a collective
bargaining process goes into effect. Expecting workers to live off of
a wage that simply cannot be lived off of is unrealistic and seems to
contradict any claims of "corporate social responsibility"
made by buyers.
Available Resources:
-
 Let's
Clean Up Fashion: the state of pay behind
the UK high street
The state of pay behind the UK high
street
Labour Behind the Label - Sept 2006
For over a decade, consumers, workers
and campaigners have been calling on
fashion brands to make sure the workers
who produce the clothes they sell are
paid a living wage. At the start of
2006, Labour Behind the Label decided
it was time to check in with the fashion
industry, to see what progress has been
made. This report presents the results
of our investigation, revealing who
is - and isn't - doing what.
- 2006, A
living wage for Sri Lanka's apparel industry
workers
ALaRM - a coalition of trade unions and
labour NGOs advocating the rights of Sri
Lanka's apparel workers - has carried
out a systematic calculation to date of
a sector-specific living wage. Providing
a sound, technical basis on which future
wage negotiations and campaigns can be
built upon.
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July 2005, Background papers prepared
by MIT (Harvard) US for the JO-IN project
discussions:
-
 
336kb) In 2002 the report "Wearing
Thin: the State of Pay in the Fashion
Industry", was published by
The UK network Labour Behind the Label,
part of the International Clean Clothes
Campaign. The "Wearing Thin"
report is the outcome of campaigns begun
throughout Europe in 1999 in response
to a global deterioration in the wages
of garment workers. As part of this
study, 12 companies were surveyed and
none of them acknowledged the need to
pay suppliers a price sufficient to
pay workers a living wage.
-
 March
2002, We
are not machines - Wages. The Like
Cutting Bamboo report (September 2000)
found that workers' wages were well
below what they needed to meet their
basic needs and that they were heavily
dependent on overtime income.
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Oct. 1999, ILRF- Empowering
Workers Towards A Living Wage. All
workers are entitled to earn a living
wage whereby they are able to steadily
improve their standard of living.
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2001, Living Wage Report, Labour Behind
the Label (this document will follow
soon)
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June 2000, The
"Living Wage" Clause in the
ETI Base Code - How to Implement
it? By David Steele ETI Information
Officer.
-
2000, Wages study US labor department
(this document will follow soon)
-
2000, Living Wage Analysis, Some Preliminary
Comments on a Living Wage for Sri Lankan
Garment (and related industries) Workers
(this document will follow soon)
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FLA Living Wage Forum, reading packet.
(this document will follow soon)
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July 2000, Press
for Change Initiates "Olympic Living
Wage Project"
Catholic Activists to live on Nike sweatshop
wage in Indonesia
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US Department of labor 308 page 'LIVING
WAGE' study now available online
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Nov 1999, The UK Labour behind the
Label Coalition (the UK platform of
the CCC has produced a 25 page report
on living wage, including case studies.
Please find here the executive
summary. | Read
the report
- Nov 1999, Empowering
Workers Towards A Living Wage
A Position Paper (International Labor
Rights Fund)
Notes:
A living wage is a wage that enables workers to meet
their needs for nutritious food and clean water, shelter, clothes, education,
health care and transport, as well as allowing for a discretionary income.
It should be enough to provide for the basic needs of workers and their
families, to allow them to participate fully in society and live with
dignity (CCC, 2002).
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